With some help from TU Delft, the Cochin University of Science and Technology, in India, has automated their library system. Now, both universities have embarked on a joint project to start a documentation centre for rural development and appropriate technology.
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Light of wisdom
By lighting a candle % the light of wisdom % the Dutch consul general, Hans Knynenburg, inaugurated the Automated Library System and Library Network at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), in India, on March 10th. The Dutch government, contributing some 800,000 guilders, sponsored the project, in which TU Delft had an advisory role.
‘What surprised me was that prior to the official opening, the system hadn’t been used at all, except for a few tests,’ says Charles Citroen, senior consultant at TU Delft library. ‘In Delft, the new library was in use for more than half a year before the official opening. But in India, even though the new system was in place, the students had to wait, continuing to use the old manual system of borrowing books, until the official opening took place.’
Citroen was one of the consultants who helped local librarians choose a suitable computer program for the administration of loaned books and for a catalogue. TU Delft also trained local staff in using the new computer systems. The Indian library bought 12 Internet terminals and four computers for the catalogue.
The implementation of the new system went very well. Citroen: ‘The opening was the third time I’d been to India, but there wasn’t much work left for me to do. The management there is so good that all I had to do was give advice on minor points, like better use of catchwords.”
The automation of the library system was part of a larger project in which TU Delft helped CUSAT to establish a university wide computer network.
With some help from TU Delft, the Cochin University of Science and Technology, in India, has automated their library system. Now, both universities have embarked on a joint project to start a documentation centre for rural development and appropriate technology.
Light of wisdom
By lighting a candle % the light of wisdom % the Dutch consul general, Hans Knynenburg, inaugurated the Automated Library System and Library Network at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), in India, on March 10th. The Dutch government, contributing some 800,000 guilders, sponsored the project, in which TU Delft had an advisory role.
‘What surprised me was that prior to the official opening, the system hadn’t been used at all, except for a few tests,’ says Charles Citroen, senior consultant at TU Delft library. ‘In Delft, the new library was in use for more than half a year before the official opening. But in India, even though the new system was in place, the students had to wait, continuing to use the old manual system of borrowing books, until the official opening took place.’
Citroen was one of the consultants who helped local librarians choose a suitable computer program for the administration of loaned books and for a catalogue. TU Delft also trained local staff in using the new computer systems. The Indian library bought 12 Internet terminals and four computers for the catalogue.
The implementation of the new system went very well. Citroen: ‘The opening was the third time I’d been to India, but there wasn’t much work left for me to do. The management there is so good that all I had to do was give advice on minor points, like better use of catchwords.”
The automation of the library system was part of a larger project in which TU Delft helped CUSAT to establish a university wide computer network.
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